To the Editor:

I have waited several days to compose myself and this response to the article about Fairfield Hills Hospital published July 27 ( “Lights In The Dark: Local Couple Reflects On Their Jobs After Meeting At Fairfield Hills” ).

I have not walked in the shoes of Mr Dahlstrom or his wife, but did work as a Registered Nurse for the CT Department of Mental Health for 33 years; 25 of them at Fairfield Hills Hospital. This I feel gives validity to the comment I offer.

My thoughts, remembrances and experiences are far different from those noted in last week’s article. I encountered some of the finest people I have known while working at Fairfield Hills; both staff and patients. I learned volumes about kindness, caring, generosity and acceptance from these encounters.

I am a better person for it.

This is not to say there was never a troubled employee who exhibited inappropriate behavior. In my experience, when this occurred, it was exposed and dealt with as it would be in any caring setting. Also in my experience, far from what was stated, nurses were not “cruel.” I witnessed heartwarming gestures of kindness and love by staff.

The patients we served were experiencing not only the pain of their mental illness but also the loss of home, family, community and friends as well as the stigma associated with “state hospitalization.” It is true that if a patient was not welcome back home once they were able, the hospital became home for them. Community services are a relatively new phenomenon. The staff became “family.”

I continued to work with many of the same patients in the community when the hospital closed. One frequent request was to take a “field trip” to the hospital grounds and to visit favorite sites. The overwhelming sentiment was that it was missed and it was a place where they felt safe.

Let’s face it, our world is often not kind and/or welcoming to those who are viewed as “different.” Let’s also acknowledge that not all people would choose to work in a large, psychiatric, setting. I am grateful to those who did. They helped provide care, security, acceptance, activity, jobs, self worth, community, etc to their patients.

They deserve our gratitude.

“It takes a village.”

It is so easy to read an account and believe the negativity. My hope is you will be open to another viewpoint.

Christina Beaudoin

Newtown